Comet Skippers prepare to jump through US Trials

Aybika Kamil | The Chronicle

One shot. That is all the Mason High School (MHS) Comet Skippers have at the 2025 US National Team Trials. 

Hosted by the American Jump Rope Federation (AJRF), jumpers across the country vie for a chance to be on the US National Jump Rope Team. The jumpers then move on to compete in Kawasaki, Japan at the 2025 World Jump Rope Championships hosted by the International Jump Rope Union (IJRU). 

MHS senior Willow Golds has jumped with the Comet Skippers for 10 years. As an upperclassman, it is part of her duties to lead and choreograph the routines they compete. Golds said she considers each jumper’s strengths and weaknesses to create a strong routine. 

“As the oldest, I’ve seen all of [the Comet Skippers] join the team,” Golds said. “I’ve worked with almost all of them and their separate events. Since I’ve grown up with them, I know their strengths and weaknesses so I reflect on that when I choreograph to make sure everyone is accounted for.”

Golds said that throughout her creative process, she uses an app to keep track of each jumper’s movements. She said sometimes, it was difficult to adapt to real life. 

“It’s hard when you have your vision for the show and it’s just not working out right,” Golds said. “So that’s the hardest part for now, but other than that, everyone’s accounted for. Everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are embraced. I’m just trying to push the team a bit more so that when I leave, the team can thrive.” 

This year, the AJRF has taken a new approach with trials for the national team. In previous years, teams across the nation would submit videos to qualify. They now get only one opportunity to perform live in front of judges. Going into the 2025 trials, mistakes made when jumping also count for a greater percentage point deduction. 

MHS junior Kaitlyn Liu started jumping with the Comet Skippers in fifth grade and is now a co-captain. Liu said there is now a 2.5 percent point deduction per mistake, unlike the low percentage in previous years. This new regulation affected how the team created their routines. 

“One of the things that we always do is make mistakes and miss a trick, but it’s okay because we’ll get back into it so it’s usually not too big of a deal,” Liu said. “But this year, misses are a huge part of your score. So we decided that instead of adding all the hardest tricks we know to get the highest score ever, we dropped them down a little. The tricks are still a fitting level of difficulty, but there’s a lower chance of missing them.” 

MHS junior Kyle Yan is another co-captain on the Comet Skippers team. He began jumping in third grade. Yan said he learned how to avoid mistakes in his routines from past experiences at competitions. 

“It can get a little bit discouraging to make mistakes,” Yan said. “But I’ve been working on those mistakes and continuing to drill them. So I think not ignoring the mistakes and not getting discouraged by them is really important so you can learn from them and continue to improve.”

The Comet Skippers had to also adapt to the earlier date of US trials this year. In previous years, the trials for the national jump rope team were usually held in the summer. With the trials now taking place in February, Liu said the Comet Skippers have to go into practices with a certain mentality. 

“Trials being this early is a huge change,” Liu said. “It’s not like we could start earlier in the year so we have to put more effort in when we practice. Every day, we come in with 100% focus, work hard and stay motivated.” 

MHS sophomore Emily Yuan has jumped with the Comet Skippers for eight years. Yuan said she was inspired by the work ethic of her team’s leaders and aims to be the same way. With the challenges the team faced, she said she realized the Comet Skippers would have to practice a lot more. 

“The new rules and changes definitely made us lock in as a team and realize that we need to be more focused on what we’re practicing and how we’re practicing,” Yuan said. “We just get one chance at trials so we’ve been drilling in on our routines. We have a big speaker at the front and as people do their routines, we continue fixing mistakes and practicing more.”

Yuan said staying motivated throughout this process can be tough but she perseveres with the support she receives from other jumpers. Over their years of experience at jump rope competitions, the Comet Skippers developed a diverse community of jumpers across the United States.

“I met new friends from different teams and I’m excited to see everyone and their routines,” Yuan said. “Since a lot of [jumpers] are on Instagram, they will have a combination of tricks they post and we comment on it and be like, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ to keep in touch.”

Golds said she is excited to see her friends and watch other jumpers at trials. She has time to watch other routines since she is not competing in every event. 

“I love watching jump rope because there’s so many creative things that I can take note of,” Golds said. “If I see someone do like their routine really well, then I can go congratulate them. If it’s someone from my team and something does not go their way, then I comfort them. Performing is a little nerve-wracking, but I think it’ll be okay.”